Stories of Love
by catslikeindigoskies
Summary: How many ways can Natsu and Lucy at last share their feelings for eachother? This is a self-made challenge to see how creative I could be in terms of that long awaited moment. Rated T for mild depictions of intimacy and violence. May contain spoilers. [Chapter 2 Released!]
1. Cold

**A/N: Hello to all! This is the first story I am publishing here, so I found it fitting to start off with a bunch of NaLu fics! These will all be oneshots, and I will try my darndest to make them short, although that never really works out well for me. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

The world around her spun, and for a moment, Lucy questioned whether or not she could make it home in this condition.

Every step felt like a small portion of eternity clasped on to her tired feet; such a raw and heavy form of fatigue, weighing down on her even further with each second that passed. Her breathing was shallow and uneven, her heartbeat quickened, her pace jagged. Her lungs burned as she struggled to trek forward, pushing past her weakness and her deprivation to finally reach that thing which she craved most: a bath.

"Natsu?" She finally managed to breathe, though her voice was barely a whisper, to the one just out of reach a few feet ahead of her. Her call was quiet, but the rose-haired boy's heightened senses clearly picked out her hoarse voice from the surrounding sounds.

He cast a quick glance over his shoulder and replied, "What is it, Luce?" His tone was as bubbly and innocent as ever, and Lucy wondered how he could be keeping such composure after everything the two had been through that day.

"Are we almost there?" She asked, whimpering. "My feet hurt." She stumbled over her own heeled boots a moment after she said this, and growled.

"The town's just up ahead, so quit your whining!" The dragonslayer replied, followed by a murmur of agreement from Happy. The blue exceed sat comfortably on his companion's shoulder, his long tail swirling as he enjoyed a plump fish. Lucy scowled as her eyes fell upon him, seated so leisurely and effortlessly...

After a few more moments of strained silence with Lucy's groans of discomfort echoing all about, the drained girl moaned, "Are we theeerreee yeeeet?"

Natsu exclaimed, "Come on, Lucy! How many times are you going to ask me that?" The girl replied with a pained cry of anguish as she stumbled again.

"How are you so messed up, anyway? Natsu did a ton more work than you." Happy chimed in, looking over his shoulder at Lucy. She growled again.

"You have no idea how much magic power it takes to summon not just one celestial spirit, but six! Not to mention the fact that all of them were my most powerful Zodiacs!" She began, absentmindedly lifting a hand to the pouch that held her keys safely on to her belt. "I'm whooped! My magic power is almost completely gone!"

"Yeah, but Natsu still did more." Happy mumbled under his breath, instantly regretting it as he felt Lucy's chocolate eyes burn into him from behind.

"Shut it, cat! I'd like to see you fight a godslayer!" She snapped.

Happy was then silent.

That day, the three had left on a job that had evidently proven to be more challenging than they'd thought. Their task was to eliminate a young and poorly trained water godslayer wizard who found destruction to be his main strongsuit. He'd been wreaking havoc on all of the smaller towns in Hargeon city, flooding them with his dark rain and ransacking them when he was finished.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all managed to stop him without taking any serious injuries, though the fight did last quite longer than they'd expected. The boy was wild and not easy to persuade, and it took a lot of magic power from the partners to evaporate his own. Lucy called upon Aquarius, Leo, Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn, and Aries for aid, each proving to do little against an opponent such as this, while Natsu was forced to activate his lightning-flame dragon mode.

When they had at last finished the job, the boy was restrained and carried off to the Magic Council Branch via wagon, where Lucy guessed that he would be imprisoned for his crimes. The three were celebrated by the neighboring towns who had previously suffered the wild boy's attacks, granted their reward, and then finally set off to walk to the nearest train station.

As Lucy dragged her feet across the ground weakly, images of the tiresome battle began to flash through her mind, thus distracting her from the throbbing pain in her body for the moment.

She remembered the look in the boy's furious eyes the first time she gazed upon them; angry, confused, and determined. They shone with an immense longing for something—could it have been belonging? Understanding? Perhaps, or maybe it was something deeper than that. Perhaps he had lost a family member, and felt empty without them. Perhaps he had never met his family, and longed to see them so fervently that it drove him to destruction.

Lucy didn't know, and the strain of pondering it made her tired mind feel no better, but she had a hope, deep within her heart, that the boy would be helped somehow; that the wildness in his brazen eyes would go away someday.

As the girl lifted her foot to embark on another step, it was suddenly tangled in with the other, and Lucy's sore body went crashing down to the plump grass before she could stop herself. She landed squarely on her face with a loud _thump_ , her keys jingling as they followed, and the blonde felt her entire self go numb as she lay there _._

"Oowww...!" She grumbled, irritated and yet too exhausted to push herself up. Instead, she rolled on to her back with a heave and inhaled deeply, trying to make the throbbing of her muscles go away.

 _That fight really did a number on me._ She said to herself, letting her eyes flutter briefly shut.

The soft _swish, swish, swish_ of Natsu's feet hitting the ground stopped for a moment, and Lucy could just make out Happy snickering at her in the distance. She had half a mind to jump up then, to pounce on him and dangle him by his tail and _really_ let him have it, but she could not. It felt so good— _too_ _good_ —to lay limply on the ground as she was then that nothing else seemed better. Even a bath.

"Hold this, Happy." She heard Natsu say quietly, and then the _swish, swish, swish_ picked up again, getting louder and louder each time. Lucy wanted to open her eyes and look, but they remained shut despite her effort.

"We'll never make it back to Magnolia if ya can't even walk right." She heard him say enthusiastically, his tone much louder now than before.

And suddenly, the itchy, thick grass beneath the girl's body was no more.

She felt a warm sensation on her back in its place—no, make that two warm sensations—that seemed to raise her up into the air and envelop her in their comforting heat.

Surprised, Lucy's eyes shot open, and were instantly met with two sharp pools of onyx and a bright smile. For a moment, she was taken aback; she didn't know what to make of the situation, but as it set in, she felt her heart speed up in her chest, pounding so hard against her ribs that it felt like she was being punched. She choked on the air that she brought in, letting it out slowly and shakily as her mind raced. Her body almost trembled, despite the security that she felt being trapped in Natsu's strong arms. His smile made her heart melt, his determined eyes sending shivers down her spine. Every thought that had once occupied her brain had dissipated; evaporating into the deepest depths of her soul where they wouldn't be resurfaced for a long while.

With Lucy still numb and gaping up at her pink-haired companion, the _swish, swish, swish_ started up yet again, and the two were then moving through the forest as one.

Time seemed to fall still as Lucy sank into the moment the two shared, her cheeks pulsing with her own heated blood, making them feel like they were on fire. She had trouble telling whether or not she was sweating because of Natsu's natural body heat or her own nerves—though Natsu being so warm and cozy to the touch definitely wasn't helping matters in the slightest.

But as time went on, all of Lucy's worries managed to slip away, along with her aches and soreness. After a while, the girl had completely given in to his soft skin and strong embrace, and she gratefully nuzzled her head into his chest and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed and her body stilled, and after a while, Lucy had fallen victim to the greedy clutches of rest.

Her chest rose and fell slowly, steadily, her breathing level and soft. She looked up at Natsu, her round eyes gradually fluttering closed, the surprise that had made the chocolate irises shimmer now null. Her cream-colored body was still and light, and her ruffled blonde pigtails dangled down to the grass beneath them. Natsu stared down upon the small girl in his arms, watching her breathe thorough breaths in and out, admiring the rosy tint to her cheeks.

Lucy mumbled something in her sleep, producing a quiet, soft sound that sounded more like a drawn out sigh, and Natsu couldn't help the smile that quirked at the corners of his mouth.

He himself could feel his body rising in temperature, for a reason unbeknownst to him at the time, and he noticed that his heart seemed to thud against his ribs even more violently than usual. The feeling reminded him of the sensation of entering battle—the adrenaline, the rush of excitement, the unquenchable thirst to plant his fist square into his opponent's jaw. Though he recognized that misplaced excitement, the awkward giddiness and the speedy heartbeat, he knew perfectly well that he was not engaged in combat with anyone... so why was his body reacting this way?

"Ooh~!" He heard Happy coo from behind him. "They're in lOooOve~!" The blue cat was suddenly airborne beside Natsu, his hands over his mouth and his round eyes displaying worlds of intent. Natsu felt his ears get hot, but remained silent, averting his eyes to the terrain ahead of him instead. He mumbled something under his breath that the blue companion could not hear.

Lucy shifted in his arms, letting out another little mumble sound, and the fire dragonslayer sighed to himself. _If only I'd pounded that brat a little sooner,_ he thought regrettably, _then you wouldn't be so tired and weak all of the sudden._

Lucy's plump lips curved up at the edges and formed a sweet little smile, and she nuzzled herself even deeper into her companion's warmth, mumbling something again. The dragonslayer grunted in return as sweat began to trickle down the back of his neck.

With that, he once again brought his eyes back to the path in front of him, and focused his mind on his surroundings. Tilting his head up, he strained his nose to catch any whiff of a rustle in the wind, scanning its current for signs and scents of people in the distance. Sure, he had been the one to get them lost in the first place, but this was mere child's play compared to the severity of many jobs he had been on in the past. Natsu always managed to get himself out of trouble. He was sure that would find a way to get them out of that forest in one piece.

The only task at hand now was figuring out how.

* * *

"HEYY EVERYBODAYYY!" The fire dragonslayer screamed as he burst through the grand doors of the guild hall. All eyes landed on him instantly, and his greeting was responded to with various cheers from his companions.

"Welcome back, Natsu! How did the job go?" He caught Mirajane's voice through the crowd of bustling, half-drunk, half-hungover young adults, and shot his head in her direction.

"It was totally awesome! We finally got to kick brat godslayer butt!" Natsu replied, earning an earnest " _Aye, sir!"_ from Happy. Mira's face lit up as she smiled, emitting a small giggle through her pursed lips.

"Where's Lucy?" Suddenly, Erza was beside him, a firm, armored hand on his shoulder. The pink-haired wizard shuddered, having been startled by her sudden appearance next to him.

"She passed out on the way back, so I carried her back to her apartment. She's probably asleep in there right now." He replied, and Erza nodded before she dropped her hand.

"That's what Natsu says, but he really just wanted to hold her~!" Happy chimed in from behind, earning a squeal from the ivory-haired she-devil and an eruption of cheers from his guildmates. Natsu's ears felt hot as Gray walked up and playfully punched him in the shoulder, his eyes portraying all that he was thinking very clearly, and then made his way out the doors to the hall, presumably out for another of his long walks. Juvia followed closely behind, trying desperately to keep herself hidden in his shadow.

"That's not true!" Natsu countered, his cheeks fading into a dark shade of pink similar to that of his own hair. "She was holding us back, so I carried her! That's all there is to it!" Before anyone else could make any comments about what happened, Natsu flung himself into a barstool and leaned over the table to ask Mira, "Oi! Ya got any of that delicious homecooked soup for dinner?"

The wizard appeared in an instant, replying, "Sure! I'll fix some right up for ya!"

Natsu waited silently, though not quite patiently, for his meal; it was the meal he had been looking desperately forward to all day. Everyone in Fairy Tail knew that Mira's homecooked soup could tame the wildest of beasts and lighten the darkest of people. Just thinking about it's swirling steam and intoxicating aroma made the dragonslayer's mouth water and his stomach twist.

The sky had grown into a fading canvas of gray and orange whilst he sat there, the sun sinking down behind the tall, stone buildings of Magnolia as it retired to the darkness to rest for the night. Natsu could smell the soup coming from behind the walls of the kitchen, and as he sat chewing his nails in anticipation, his mind trailed back to Lucy.

He wondered if she was sleeping well over in her soft bed, if she was having sweet dreams while she regenerated her strength. The rose-haired dragonslayer, deep down, really missed having Lucy around to annoy. A little piece of Fairy Tail was missing without her, and the thought made him restless inside.

But then Mira appeared from behind the kitchen door with one bowl of soup in each hand, and all of Natsu's worries went away as the smell enveloped him and his stomach took control.

* * *

Lucy's eyes burst open, her chest exploding in one large inhale and her fists clenching hold to her damp bedsheets.

She lay there for a moment, trying to adjust herself to this sudden dark atmosphere. Her heart pounded with such vigor and distress that she could feel it in her toes. Mind racing to catch up with it, Lucy blinked a few times, then gingerly pushed herself up into a sitting position.

All she could make out around her were dark silhouettes of her bedroom, outlined in a layer of white against the glow of the moon through her foggy windows. Beneath her, the mattress was moist—very moist—and when she lifted a shaky hand to her forehead, she realized with surprise that it was her own perspiration.

With a hefty sigh, the girl swung her legs over the side of the now uncomfortable bed and stood, wobbling. "That was some dream." She mumbled to herself.

She vaguely recalled some parts of the dream she'd had before waking up, and they still shook her as she pressed her mind to find them. Images flashed through her mind as she slowly made her way downstairs through the blanket of darkness, and Lucy whimpered.

She saw Natsu, laying motionless on the ground, his body bruised and bloodied and his eyes swollen shut. She saw herself kneeling beside his still form, tears falling from her eyes onto his own tan skin, her hands gripping tightly to his arm. "Wake up!" She had cried. "Please!" But he stayed still.

Quickly, she shook her head, her feet at last landing on the hard, cold wood of the downstairs floor. In that moment, she was thankful that she knew her apartment well enough to not trip down the stairs—anything to distract herself from her mind.

From there, she went to the kitchen, where she grabbed a glass from a cupboard and blindly filled it with water. She then pushed herself up to sit on the counter, leaned her head back, and let the icy liquid slip down her throat with ease.

The cup was empty in less time than she'd expected, and Lucy, now cleansed, felt like she should try to go back to sleep. Her initial thought was to flick some lights on and write for a bit to calm herself down, but she really did want to get some rest for the day ahead. So that's what she decided she would do.

Lucy placed the cup into the sink to deal with later and then made her way back upstairs, waiting silently as the dream began to dissipate in her mind. _That would never happen._ Could never _happen._ She told herself. _Dying's just not his style._

The last fragments of the dream were gone, pushed away in light of her consciousness. Lucy opened the bedroom door that she had shut, willing her mind to prepare itself to sleep once more.

Instantly when she stepped foot into the room, she caught sight of a figure seated silently on her windowsill, the glass panes behind it hanging open.

She screamed.

"Hey, hey, hey, Lucy! It's me!" The shadow was up in an instant, its toned arms held up in submission. "It's Natsu!"

As quickly as it had come, Lucy's panic sunk back down into its depths and disappeared. A sting of irritation pricked at her insides as the figure lowered one arm, scratching its head of frazzled hair with the other. The blonde wizard could practically see his dorky smile through the darkness that surrounded the two of them, and she thought about smirking, but held back.

"Natsu!" She snapped. "How many times have I told you _not_ to break into my house in the middle of the night?!" Her voice was angered, exasperated, and demanding.

"Sorry, jeesh!" Natsu said, letting his arm flop down to his side.

This happened every night. Lucy would be asleep, but would suddenly awaken when she felt a warm presence slip under the bedsheets and crawl up next to her. It never took her long to discover that it was none other than her own partner. Each time, she would either slap him, yell at him, or just shove him off of her bed in desperation, and yet each time, he would proceed to argue with her and complain that his bed wasn't comfortable enough for him to sleep in.

Although this was a constant, there were the rare times where Lucy slept through his intrusion, and would only wake up the next morning to find herself entangled in his searing embrace. Sometimes, she'd asked herself why she couldn't get used to it and enjoy it. After all, it wasn't entirely _unenjoyable,_ but it was just the awkwardness of the situation and particularly _who it was with_ that made her extremely uncomfortable. It was because his heavy breathing made her heartbeat quicken, and the way he pressed his warm body up against her own left her flustered and confused underneath him. It was because her mixed emotions drove her mind crazy, with her desperately wanting him off of her and yet never wanting him to leave at the same time.

"What are you doing up this late?" Natsu asked, breaking Lucy free from her bustling mind and racing heart. "I thought you'd be asleep." Underneath the goofiness and cluelessness, however, Lucy sensed that the dragonslayer's voice was tinged with worry.

"Well, I was, but I—" She suddenly stopped herself, wondering if telling Natsu about her nightmare would be a good idea or not. After all, it was he himself that she had dreamt of, and the thought of admitting that made her stomach flutter. "I woke up out of nowhere and then couldn't get back to sleep, so I went to get some water downstairs."

Natsu's face slowly began materializing before Lucy as her eyes finally started adjusting to the darkness of the night that sat like a cage around the world. She could see that his dark eyes were wide and bright and his smile was genuine.

The two of them stood there for a moment, their eyes locked, the tension between them thick, until Natsu finally stated, "Well, I just came by to check and see if you were okay." He hesitated for a moment before asking, "You... are okay, right?"

Lucy giggled, her heart seemingly bursting with happiness in her chest. _He came to check on me._ She was so elated at the thought that she almost forgot to answer him.

With a giggle, she replied, "Yes, I am."

She caught a shimmer in her companion's smile, which she returned happily before stepping forward. "Now, if you don't mind, I really need to get back to sleep." A smile still plastered across her face, Lucy ducked her head and maneuvered her way over to her bed, pulling the sheets back and beginning to lay down.

When she sat on it, however, she realized that the mattress was still fairly damp from her _episode_ before she'd woken up. It smelled of her sweat, and when she ran a weary hand across it, she realized that it was even worse than she'd originally thought. It felt like someone had dumped a bowl of hot water onto her bed.

With a sigh, Lucy decided that the only other option was to sleep above it; she pulled all the sheets and blankets up to her pillows, and then laid down atop them with a huff. She rested on her side, her head resting on her bent elbow and her knees tucked up to her chest. She was suddenly angry at herself for wearing only her booty shorts and a loose tank top that night. The cold air swam across her smooth skin like waves on sand, swishing this was and that relentlessly. Lucy instantly began shivering as soon as she stilled, but figured there was nothing she could do about it now since she was too exhausted to get up and change again... not to mention the fact that Natsu was still watching her.

Ah, Natsu was still watching her. Lucy suddenly realized with a start that he hadn't moved since she last spoke. She cracked one eye to try and look up at him, asking, "Are ya gonna leave or what?" There was an edge to her tone that she hadn't intended, and she cringed at how demanding she sounded in that moment.

Suddenly, there was a rustle behind her, but before Lucy could roll to investigate, she was met with a soft blanket of warmth that had slithered its way around her. She gasped, alarmed at the sudden movements. "Natsu?!" She cried, her heart quickening its pace as her mind struggled to find a way to play this off coolly.

But the dragonslayer merely said, "Naw. I can't leave."

Lucy laid there for a few long moments, silent, unmoving, as she barely managed to register the situation. Natsu's grip on her tightened as he utilized the arm he had slung over her small body to pull her closer to him, and Lucy's breath caught as his body heat once again pulsed throughout her form.

"W-why not?" Lucy asked, her voice hushed to barely that of a mere whisper.

She felt Natsu's hot breath on her neck as he chuckled. "'Cause you'd get cold without me."

The blonde wizard laid still, her body tense, wondering what to say, if anything at all. Such a statement as what her partner had just said had left her completely and utterly breathless; she felt at a loss of her ability to do anything.

Slowly, she rolled on to her side so that she and Natsu faced eachother, him looking down on her with sweet, fiery eyes, while she stared up into them, flustered.

Then he smiled at her, a notion that set every inch of her on dancing fire, and Lucy stared up at him, waiting for it. Waiting for that moment which would set her free forever.

Gingerly, the wizard craned his neck and leaned his head down, brushing the tip of his nose against hers before he pressed their lips together.

His bicep kept her trapped firmly against him as their tongues danced together, his hand resting neatly on her hair. Natsu's rose-colored bangs brushed against her forehead as they nestled against eachother, and when he stroked the sides of her body and sighed against her soft lips, Lucy was lost.


	2. Her Hope

**A/N:** **Back again for chapter two! I am so sorry that this is late. I wanted to get it done and out by Sunday, but between final projects, a volleyball tournament AND team bonding, that just wasn't going to work out. This one is a big step up from chapter one—very angsty and emotional, and definitely much longer. Expect chapter three to be out by next Sunday or sooner. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Life was only fragments of what it had been before.

It was in little pieces, shattered and broken, scattered all about in inconsistent patterns. It streaked across the floor like paint on a canvas—the floor that was stained with the blood of the innocent. It's vibrant red portrayed all of the selflessness, the devotion, the purity, the beauty and the fury and the strength, that dripped from the walls and pooled into the tiles of the floor continuously as the seconds passed, only growing in its stench and its vileness. It was the blood of the innocent—of the one person who never in his _life_ deserved what was handed to him.

That person was before Lucy's very eyes now: still, but alive, colorless, yet glowing all the same, and exhausted, but never ceasing to keep fighting. That person fought for himself, but also for his friends, and he never stopped until he won. Until he saw the offender laying limply on the ground beneath his feet, unable to speak and to move. Until he knew for certain that everyone was safe and okay, and that he had successfully protected them.

 _But he never protects himself. He didn't protect himself._

As she sat there, her ankles crossed and her hands folded in contempt, Lucy saw. She saw everything. Over and over and over again, the images would appear and disappear, swishing this way and that like the sea in high tide. The waves were large, though quickly passing, and they crashed into the sand with enough force to crush stone. Each wave brought a booming, endless panorama of painful memories, and with them also came the tears. The two lines of hot, loose liquid streamed down her cheeks, unendingly and relentlessly, down her chin and then landing with a splat down onto her hands. There were so many tears that she was at a loss for breath; they drained her, bled her, and exhausted every inch of her soul, and yet there was nothing she could do but sit there at his bedside and let them fall—she would suffer under the feeling of them slowly trailing down her face, and watch as they splattered down onto the skin of her thighs.

 _There's nothing else I can do. Nothing._

There was a cracking, a thumping, a pounding sound that echoed all about; they were always there, in the back of her mind, for her to hear when all was silent. Like a tribeman banging on a set of conga drums, it was a reiterating, harmonious sound that carried on in the same two beats infinitely. It was the sound of bones breaking, skin bruising, and bodies clashing with the earth. It was these sounds that fueled Witch's Cave to continue their terror. It was these sounds that had been heard when Lucy's guildmate—her partner in crime, her companion, her best friend—was beaten brutally and relentlessly and without mercy right before her eyes. It was these sounds—these horrid sounds—that haunted every waking moment of her day ever since it happened.

Wherever she walked, they were there, taunting her from behind a building or watching her from the depths of her shadow. They were all she heard, all she envisioned when she closed her eyes, and all she could place her mind on when she looked at him.

This continued until it felt as though her entire life was meaningless up until that very moment—the moment where she felt, heard, and saw Natsu Dragneel fall. There was nothing else but the images and the sounds; nothing else mattered except for the tattered, broken boy that lay unconscious in the infirmary bed before her.

His chest slowly rose and fell only a few times within the minute, though barely, and the blonde wizard could see the paleness of his skin and the sweat that trickled down his forehead and arms as a result. She could see when his fists clenched in his restricted despair and hear his occasional heavy, rapid breathing as he tried so desperately to wake himself up.

Look at him was all she did every since he'd been brought back to the guild hall. She had spent hours on end beside him, analyzing his movements so thoroughly in hopes of catching any sort abnormality or change.

And when she looked at him, when she analyzed his helplessness and his suffering, when she watched him dream and struggle through his nightmares, there was a voice. It resided deep within the back of her mind, whispering to her through her sobbing and her praying. She listened to it replay in her mind as she silently watched him, letting the words whisper inside of her ears and yet saying nothing in return. It was her voice, she decided, though it didn't sound particularly like her. It was low and pained and hateful, and it spoke as if it doubted everything, it's tone so sharp that the words could slice through her very soul.

 _This is all your fault._ It said quietly. _He is dying in here because you couldn't protect him._ The words fell off of its invisible tongue endlessly and angrily. There was another, and another, until this voice—Lucy's own voice—was the new source of her tears.

But it was true, and she knew it. That was why she cried.

She was weak, and Natsu had to protect her, like always. However, this time, he could have actually _died_ out there because of her. He could still die.

"It's all my fault…" She whispered, and her voice broke as she ducked her head to let more tears fall. She squeezed her folded hands in between her legs, their clamminess emitting small droplets of sweat on the undersides of her flesh. "I'm so sorry, Natsu."

There was a sudden creak from behind her, but Lucy didn't bother to lift her head as she heard the door open. Footsteps lightly shuffled in—from what she could tell, there were three sets—and the hinges on the wall emitted another drawn-out squeak as the door was pressed shut once more.

"Lucy?" Instantly, the wizard recognized the light, soft voice of Mirajane. She didn't respond, instead just keeping her head low so that no one could see the tears that fell.

"How is he?" Another voice piped up-it was Wendy's- after a few moments of long, heavy silence. There was a _tip_ sound as one lone droplet splashed down onto her leg. Again, Lucy remained silent, so flustered and worried and so dreadfully guilty that she couldn't find any right words.

 _What would you even say? What can you say?_

The blonde wizard, through the taunting voices and the screaming and the cracking sounds that her mind displayed, could hear the three people at the doorway whispering. They whispered, hushed and nearly silent, to themselves, and all that Lucy made out clearly was the name _Natsu._

"Lucy, you've been here since this afternoon. It's getting late now, you should-"

In a flash, Lucy met the hand that landed comfortingly on her shoulder with her own, roughly slapping it away as she croaked, "Don't touch me."

There was a silence, and Lucy shook. She shook violently, crushed under the weight of her sorrow. More tears fell, and the girl's cheeks felt hot and slimy as they slid down them, slowly. So slowly, it was as though they wanted to savor every inch that they covered, to feel the blood that rushed there to try and make them go away, but could not.

"Lucy, we're all leaving soon, and you can't stay here overnight." Mira soothed softly.

Lucy lifted her head slightly, though her face was still trapped in a cage of her sunkissed hair. "N-no… I…" She began, struggling. "I-I have to stay with him."

"Lucy, we know that you don't want to leave his side," Suddenly, the deep voice of Erza chimed in from behind, and Lucy guessed that she had been closer to the door during the time she'd spoken with Mira. "but it's not safe for you to be here at night by yourself. We know that this is a hard time for you, and we understa-"

Lucy shot up from her place in the chair and whipped around to face the group who'd interrupted her. "You don't understand! You could _never understand!"_ She screeched, feeling the tears that had swelled in her eyes begin to pour out from them like waterfalls. Erza's eyes widened as she took in the sight; the sight of Lucy's red face, her swollen chocolate eyes and shining tear stains. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and her legs trembled as she struggled to keep herself up. Atop her head stood many loose strands of her hair, frizzled and falling out in all directions, the ties that held her trademark pigtails together strained and falling loose. The scarlet-haired warrior could practically feel her friend's tenseness and agony weeping off of her like a dancing flame; it seared the air around them and further ignited their hearts with the sadness they shared.

"Lucy, I-" She began, but silenced herself as her friend wordlessly turned away and slowly sank back down into her chair. She watched the blonde girl's head collapse into her arms as she wept aloud, her sobs loud and uncontrollable and shaken.

"Lucy, it's okay." Mira said, now at the weeping wizard's side with a hand on her hair, Wendy following in her efforts to calm her down. "Come on, let's get you home."

Guidingly, the she-devil enveloped Lucy's trembling hands in her own and slowly led her to stand. Lucy faltered in her steps as the two made their way to the door, and Wendy and Erza cleared the path for them so that she didn't stumble over any of their feet.

Once they had left the infirmary, Mirajane led her disheveled companion through the empty grand hall of the guild to the front doors. Lucy let her head hang limply across her neck, her feet dragging heavily behind her as Mira did her part in pulling most of her weight for her.

Gray was there, seated by his lonesome at a table, a mug resting on the polished wood before him. He rested his head in one hand, those fingers entangled in his hair, and watched the scene unfold before him. Lucy in her current state embodied every single emotion that he'd been feeling since it happened, though he could say for certain that she was definitely more distressed than he was.

He could hear her mumbling things. Her voice was light and hoarse and exhausted, and with every word it sounded like she was going to burst into tears. Some of the words that the ice-wizard understood clearly were "my fault" and "can't leave him," and Gray felt his heart sink as he watched her quietly lull herself into further dismay before him. Before all of them.

The ice wizard sat there, slouched over in his seat with his head in his hand, and turned his attention to the golden liquid that resided in the thick cup. His mind raced so fast that he struggled to keep up with it, and he could feel his heart pumping slower and slower in his chest as the devastating events of the previous hours replayed.

He felt alone.

To speak honestly, Gray didn't really know what he was feeling. He was worried beyond himself, of course, and he had a gnawing feeling in his gut that wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried to make it, but what did all of that mean? Weren't he and Natsu supposed to be "those two" who'd butt heads all the time and can never agree on anything?

He didn't expect to feel this lost. This confused. This heavy.

At first, he hadn't felt any of those things. He had watched the whole thing happen before his eyes: a piercing light enveloped the dragonslayer, and there was an extremely loud noise that erupted into the air like that of a volcano. Natsu laid still in the grass, the wind ruffling his charred hair and his fingers twitching, his mouth hanging slightly open and his eyes clammed shut. Thin streams of blood trickled out of his nostrils, ears, and down his chin, and his vet and scarf were stained red from the vast amounts of it. Gray remembered it so well-if he hadn't been so covered in thick, hot blood and his skin wasn't burnt and bruised, he could have been mistaken for sound asleep.

He looked back up at Lucy. Tears still flowed from her eyes, as they had been ever since the unconscious Natsu was laid in the infirmary bed, and they showed no signs of stopping any time soon. Her body was visibly exhausted and she desperately needed a thorough bathing, and as he continued to study the broken girl, he began to put the pieces together. He saw it in her twisted, pained expression: she was at war with her own mind.

Gray knew this because it was how he himself had once been, after his beloved master Ur died.

Before he could even put his mind to it, the afflicted ice-wizard was up from his seat, the mug and his thoughts and those tears that threatened to spill long forgotten. "Mira, wait!" He called.

Her platinum hair glided across her slim body over her shoulder as she gingerly turned to look at him, her round eyes bright.

"You should stay here with Erza and look after Natsu. I can take Lucy home." He said as he moved closer to the two girls.

Mira looked slightly confused for a moment before she replied, "Are you sure? I don't want to trouble you."

Gray shook his head, forcing a weak smile despite his despondency. "It's no trouble. I don't really understand why, but…" He started, but found that even words could not describe his sudden actions. "I don't know. I guess doing this will help me feel better or something. I just feel like… it's something I need to do." He finally concluded, his voice trailing off.

Mira smiled understandingly, a glint reaching her ocean irises, and said quietly, "Okay," before she handed the barely conscious Lucy over to her friend.

The black-haired wizard slung one of her limp arms over his shoulders and gripped onto her waist with the other to support her sluggishness, and then the two of them slowly pushed open the doors to the guild hall and left.

All was silent again when the two of them were gone, and Mira sighed.

* * *

"There you go." Gray said with a heave as he placed Lucy gently down onto her bed. The girl made no effort to move herself, instead just letting her body sink down into the soft mattress. She stayed like that for a few moments-staring up at the ceiling, breathing only slightly, before she lifted her head and her eyes landed upon Gray.

"Gray?" She asked quietly. Her voice was hoarse and pained, and much deeper than what was normal for her. When the ice wizard's dark eyes met her own, he saw that they were red and somewhat swollen, presumably for the drastic amount of crying she had done that day. On top of that, her eyelids drooped and she had visible dark pads beneath them, and tear stains were also still visible.

"Yeah?" He responded, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"I'm not the only one who's worried, right?"

Gray looked away from her for a moment, lowering his head. He folded his hands in his lap, letting his shoulders hunch over in almost submission. "No. You're definitely not the only one who's torn up about this."

Lucy was silent as she dropped her head again.

There was a mutual silence between them for a few moments after that. It could almost be related to the respectable amount of space one would give family members of the deceased at a funeral; even if you wanted to say something, like "I'm sorry for your loss" or "I'm here if you want to talk," you couldn't, and there didn't even have to be a reason why. It was a silence so thick and so suffocating that Gray found himself quite uncomfortable. He was afraid that, because she had nothing else to do but think of the pale and sweaty Natsu back in the infirmary, Lucy would start crying again.

"But for right now," Gray started, pushing himself up from the bed and turning to face his guildmate, "you need to get some sleep. You've been in that chair next to Natsu since yesterday afternoon. You need it." He encouraged, thankful to hear the sound of his voice. Lucy said nothing, but obeyed his advice by slipping her shoes off, tossing them over to her closet, and then shuffling underneath her bed covers.

"Try not to worry too much." Gray said solemnly as he slowly trudged over to her bedroom door. "It's Natsu. He'll come around." Lucy made a small noise in her throat as a sudden blanket of darkness was thrown over the room, but the ice-wizard knew that she was already asleep by the time he'd flicked off the lights and closed the door.

He ducked his head and buried his hands in his pant pockets, suddenly realizing with a start that he'd left his shirt back in the guild hall.

The clock-like sounds of his boots hitting the wooden floor echoed all throughout the walls of Lucy's home as Gray took his leave.

" _It's Natsu. He'll come around."_ He had said, and those words echoed continuously in his mind as he walked through the dark, cold, dimly lit Magnolia back to his home.

 _He has to._

* * *

Lucy woke up the next morning feeling different.

She had been slowly drowning in a dismal puddle of grief ever since the previous afternoon-sitting with her knees crossed, her eyes closed, her hands folded, letting the water pool into her nostrils and ears until it flooded her.

The previous day, she was so weak and so broken, like even the slightest motion could make her burst into a puddle of tears-but now, she felt a different sensation entirely. That pang of sadness and regret was still there, and her worry had never gone away to begin with, but now there was something else inside of her that stood above it all: there was hope.

That night, Lucy's mind had conjured up something pleasant to entertain her rest, contrary to what was expected. When she had closed her eyes, the blonde wizard saw Natsu.

Not the Natsu that had been gently laid down to rest atop the silky, white bed sheets, the Natsu that's skin was so pale and hands were so clammy that he could almost be mistaken for dead. The Natsu that wouldn't wake up no matter how hard you shook him. This was a different Natsu.

This Natsu opened his eyes and looked at her, his dark irises glowing, his smile wide, and his natural tanned complexion returned.

He stood a few feet ahead of her with open arms, the scratches and bruises and bandages that adorned his body now gone completely. His onyx-colored eyes were wide and looking sharp, the irises seeming to gleam under the light of the sun. His smile extended from ear to ear, and the whiteness of his teeth made his entire self look like he was glowing.

Lucy had exploded in that moment, had screamed and ran to him as the tears fell like shooting stars from her lashes, had charged head first into his welcoming embrace and toppled the two of them to the ground. She buried her face into his chest, wrapping herself around him so tightly that it hurt even her own arms. "I'm so happy you're okay!" She cried into his skin, and her rose-haired companion gently stroked the top of her head.

"I would never leave you." He soothed, his smile audible in his tone, and Lucy was so happy that she almost forgot she was dreaming.

The wizard could still feel that overwhelming joy bubbling in her heart like boiling water, and this propelled her to dress herself and brush her raunchy hair faster than she had ever managed before. When this was done, she clipped her keys on to her belt, popped a mint into her mouth, and flung herself through the door even before the morning doves could exclaim their protests.

She dashed across Magnolia so quickly that it all seemed to fly by her in one massive blur. Nothing was present in her mind whilst she ran save for that gradually growing hope: the hope that Natsu, the one in the world who made her heart soar, would be waiting for her when she came through the guild doors.

And when she did, there was a loud slam as the hinges flung backwards and the wooden doors collided with the thick walls of stone. All heads turned to her within the second as she kicked forward, plummeting towards the back of the guild where the infirmary was found.

She blasted through door after door like they were nothing more than insects at her feet, and when she finally reached the one that led to her partner's room, she stopped.

Lucy kneeled down and panted vigorously, sucking in as much air as her lungs could hold on to. She took a few wordless seconds to recompose herself, attempting to steady her heartbeat and brushing her hair back nicely, before she slowly twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

"Oh! Lucy!" She looked above the unconscious wizard to see Mira, seated neatly in Lucy's same white chair with a damp cloth dangling from her hand. It was held it over the boy's head, and Lucy guessed that her startling intrusion had stopped Mira from placing it there. "You're looking better!"

The celestial wizard nodded, forcing a smile as she pulled up a spare chair from the corner and sat across from Mira. "How is he?" She asked, dropping her eyes down to the rose-haired dragonslayer.

To her dismay, she realized with a sigh that he had barely changed at all since she'd left yesterday. His skin was even slightly paler than it was, and his eyes had very visible dark circles lining them. His lips were chapped and crusty, the skin all around them dry.

His hands still balled into fists at his sides despite his bandages, and he would emit small noises every now and then, fidgeting ever so slightly in an attempt to wake up.

The she-devil's gleaming eyes seemed to dull as she, too, brought her gaze down upon Natsu. "Well, I can't say there's been much improvement." She began, and Lucy's heart continued to sink as she examined her partner's pale face and shallow breathing. "One of his wounds somehow got infected, and I think he's contracted a bit of a fever as a result."

Lucy closed her eyes, and against the black canvas of her eyelids, a picture was painted; herself, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Happy, and Carla all did their best to carry Natsu along through some forest, back to the guild hall where he could be treated. They were all angry, in pain, weak, and exhausted as a result of their crushing defeat, and having to haul him along was not making any of them feel better. Lucy remembered how guilty she'd felt as she gently handled his head in her hands while Erza and Gray took his torso and legs.

She remembered how that thought lingered in the shadows of her mind no matter where she turned, as it still did. That thought of: _If you'd have been stronger, he wouldn't have had to protect you. He wouldn't be hurt like this._

"But-!"

Lucy quickly opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on Mira after she'd spoken up. "He did wake up for a little bit last night after you left, though he was very out of it."

Lucy practically shot out of her chair upon hearing this, her eyes widening to the point where she thought they would bulge straight out of her skull. "Really? Was he alright?!" She questioned, her voice booming.

Mira chuckled a bit, though it was unenthusiastic and hollow. "Yeah." Her voice was soft and tender, like she was attempting to comfort a newborn baby. "He kept asking for you."

Instantly, Lucy felt her eyes swell to the brim with hot, salty tears, and as Mira's glowing eyes looked into hers with so much kindness pooled into them, she could not help but blink and laugh, and all of the water inside spilled down her cheeks.

The she-devil smiled in return, and Lucy noticed that her eyes glistened as well. Whether it was tears or joy that shone in them, she did not know, but the celestial wizard was so overcome with so many emotions in that moment that she did not care. All she knew was that her friend was by her side, and that that was all she needed to stay hopeful.

Slowly, the blonde wizard sank back down into her chair, a large smile still eminent on her rosy face. Mirajane continued her work on Natsu, reaching down to place the damp towel over his forehead while he remained asleep. When she'd done this, she brushed her hair over her shoulder and sighed. Lucy noticed the fatigue in her eyes when she looked into them-how the usually ethereal, deep blue color of her irises was slightly tainted by a thin layer of gray.

The celestial mage reached across the bed, over Natsu's still body, and took Mira's hand in her own. The she-devil looked back up at her and smiled, giving Lucy's hand a thorough squeeze, and then the two of them brought their gazes back upon Natsu.

He had suffered non-stop throughout the entirety of a full day and a half now, and because of that, they all suffered. Each time Lucy had looked at him since the incident-no-the ambush, the brutal assault, the meaningless torture, she had felt lost. Crushed. Broken into a million pieces that were far beyond restoration. Though this time, when she looked upon the pale boy asleep in the bed, she was not guilty or angry or terrified anymore. The kindness that her friends had showed her even through her incompetence, the smile that Mira had showed her how to wear once again, and the way Natsu twitched ever so slightly in the bed left her anxious heart's hope only growing.

* * *

The next few days seemed to creep by slowly and unwaveringly, hidden beneath the darkness of Lucy's own shadow. Time was at a constant repeat; it was all the same. Every day, Lucy would wake up, more excited and hopeful than all the times before, and dash to the guild as fast as she could possibly manage. Though, every morning's entry into the large hall only led to the same disappointment.

She would barge in as she had done before, expecting to see him pushing himself up from the bed, his eyes lively and his complexion no longer pale, his smile wide and laughter booming from it, his arms held happily out toward her, but that would never happen. That was only a dream—it was her little fantasy that replayed neverendingly in her mind while she watched him sleep from her chair. It was probably the only reason that she continued smashing her way into the guild every day. That fantasy was her hope.

There had been a few times where Natsu would awaken, though he was barely conscious and his entire self was too scattered to understand anything. He would mumble little things, most of the time just inaudible sounds and motions. After a while of this, it became clear to Lucy that Natsu was very much awake on the inside, in fact begging to be set free, but his body was too weak to support that in its current state.

He was so close, though! Each time his eyes opened so slowly like they did, she could almost see that thin line of string twisting and breaking-it would snap at any given moment, but the circumstances just needed to be perfect. He was _so close._

However, there were also different times where the dragonslayer would just have these brief fits of spasms; his eyes remained closed and his mouth still, but he would thrash and clench his fists and groan agonizingly, almost as though he was seizing, though not.

The only way Lucy could console herself over the whole situation was to simply never leave his side. Day by day and night by night, she was there, sunken into her uncomfortable white chair until it felt as though her backside was being crushed. She would be watching him, attempting to spoon-feed him, wiping the sweat off of his face with damp towlets… anything she could do to help him, she did. After all, it was her fault that all of this was happening in the first place, so she vowed that she would be the last to leave him alone if it killed her.

Lucy's tiny fragment of hope that had sparked the day she'd spoken with Mira was continuously growing as time passed. Before, it was a just fantasy-a dream she'd had one night that she prayed would be made real. But now, it was more of a determination, an adamantity, a _faith_ , in which Lucy told herself constantly that Natsu _would_ get well again. He _would_ wake up at any moment, smiling, and she would be there waiting for him. Even though her partner was still bedridden, there was a drastic improvement in his once spiraling condition, and that too was a fuel for her sparking hope. For her faith. Mira and Porlyusica had been treating the infected and swelling wounds to the best of their ability, and thus his fever had gone down a significant bit. He perspired much less than before, and his skin was less pale and hot. Those short lived awakenings were growing more frequent by the day, and there were quite a few times where he could be caught mumbling things about food in his sleep.

 _He's so close. He will wake up any day now. Just keep waiting._

But even though his condition was improving dramatically, he still was nowhere near full health. There were still some large wounds-mainly in his torso area-that needed extra care and heavy bandaging, and his concussion was as eminent as it'd ever been. The most terrifying part of all of this was probably that concussion, to speak honestly, because there was still a chance that he could slip into a coma if left asleep for too long.

According to Porlyusica, it would take at least a week for his magic power and his body to regenerate, given that there were no other impediments. Lucy still held much worry in her heart, but she hoped that the faith she'd put in him to at last come around would play its role eventually. That was what kept her from breaking down again.

 _Even though he's getting better, he's still in the same place he was five days ago: asleep._

"I still don't understand how those lowlife thugs could've beaten him so badly like this."

Lucy looked up at her partner's blue exceed, her dragged-out silence briefly stunned by the sudden loudness of his voice. Immediately when her eyes landed on him, she noticed that his usually joyful expression was stained with deflation as he sat next to Natsu on the bed, letting his tail hang down over the side.

The blonde wizard sighed in response. "They were more than just thugs." Her voice was hoarse and quiet, masking the boiling anger that still resided inside. "It was a Dark Guild full of wizards with crazy, unpredictable magic. They had the element of surprise on their side." Happy was silent for a few moments, and Lucy returned her gaze to Natsu. She was torn between feelings of fury and grief, yearning so fervently to pummel the wizards of Witch's Cave into the ground and bury them there, but yet also wanting to crumble into her friend's arms and cry and tell him how sorry she was.

Silently, Lucy reached out and took the dragonslayer's hand in her own, stroking his palm with her index finger.

"Yeah, sure, but that's never stopped him before! I don't understand!" She could sense a growing panic in his voice, but couldn't find the right words to comfort him, and so instead said nothing as he squeaked, "I just don't understand…"

Lucy tightened her grip on Natsu's hand, curling her fingers around his. "He'll wake up soon. He's going to be fine." She whispered, though more to herself than to Happy. These words had been so frequently said the past few days that it was now almost a reflex; they helped her steady herself when she looked upon the sleeping Natsu, and when she felt like she would cry again if she didn't say anything else. They were her hope.

The celestial wizard then ducked her head, succumbing to the memories that danced about in her head and scanning them as they drifted by. There were images of the unique and terrifying magic attacks that were thrown at them that day; the arts of internal damage that some of the defenders wielded, the way they could fabricate piercing migraines and make blood pulse up into your face and out of your eyes. On top of that, the offensives' punches were so fast that they could not have even been comprehended. They were masters of speed and their strength was on par with that of Natsu's own. All of those wizards combined were truly a force to be reckoned with, and Lucy specifically recalled one among them who could morph between the elements that surrounded him, even if it were a magic attack. He could dissipate himself into anything that he came in contact with.

The wizards of Witch's Cave's assault was nothing short of flawless—each and every one of them performed their job perfectly, executing their tasks with so much finesse that it almost seemed like it was easy for them.

"Hey, Natsu? Can you hear me?" Happy asked quietly, breaking Lucy free from the shackles of her racing mind. She brought her eyes back up to the fire wizard's sleeping face, the corners of her lips tipping up as she admired how painfully sweet he looked.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." She added, trying to hide her smile. She wanted to be optimistic for the blue cat's sake; he was old and he was mature, but he was still very… _immature_ … and so she felt like it was her duty to be strong for him. This was definitely a time where he needed someone to do that-it was plain all over his face. He was just as frazzled and upset as she was, maybe even more.

The exceed was silent, but he had positioned himself so that he leaned over the unconscious dragonslayer with his tiny paws resting on his bandaged chest.

All was quiet and dead for a few moments before a sound rang out in the air.

Both fairies' eyes bulged as they witnessed the scene unfold before them; Lucy watched her partner's eyelids slowly flutter open, revealing his sharp, steel-colored eyes for them both to admire. He seemed confused for a few moments, for said steel irises steadily made their way about the room, struggling to recognize the two people looking down on him from both sides.

"Lu…" He began to croak, but her soft smile hushed him as she brought a finger to his lips and shook her head.

"Shh. You need to take it easy." The girl said softly, and the way her chocolate eyes seemed to melt into his made Natsu's entire self feel like jelly.

Her face was bright—so bright, in fact, that it burned a peachy red color, and her smile was so wide and ecstatic that you'd think she'd just been revived from the dead.

He attempted bringing his hand to his head to try and steady himself, but when it was held in place, he looked down to see that it was trapped inside of Lucy's. The undersides of her fingers were so creamy and smooth that he almost hadn't noticed before.

She brought her finger away from his mouth then, and lightly tilted her head to the side when he eyed her, her smile only growing. "How are you feeling?" She asked softly, but it took him a moment to register what she'd asked because it was so quiet.

Natsu blinked, and then roughly managed to tilt his head downward to analyze the state of his body.

His entire torso was wrapped neatly in bandages, clean and white as though they'd just been refreshed, as well as his hands, forehead, and left bicep. The dragonslayer felt completely stiff, and his joints and muscles ached beyond belief. He yearned to remember exactly what had happened to him, but his mind was as cloudy as the sky during a thunderstorm, and every time he tried to press it, the pain that enveloped him magnified immensely.

"Wha…?" He attempted to ask when Lucy gently pulled their hands apart, but his hoarse voice broke before he could finish speaking. He continued to try and form his question, but when his eyes became lost in his friend's sweet, round, glistening umber eyes, he found that he could not recall what he'd been planning to ask in the first place.

"I'm sure you can't remember what happened, can you?" She inquired after a few moments of silence. Natsu wanted to shake his head, but his frame was locked in place by the dry bandages and overall rigidness of his traumatized body. She blonde wizard only smiled as she watched him, and the dragonslayer suddenly felt awkward beneath the walls of his skin, like if he made one wrong move, the kindness and joy in her gaze would melt away.

"You were badly injured in a fight and have been asleep ever since." Lucy began to explain, and her hazel brows furrowed as pain shimmered in her eyes. The fire wizard yearned to reach up and comfort her, but with the state he was in, all he could do was lay on his tattered back and watch as tears began to swell in the corners of her eyes. "We were all so scared that…"

Natsu quickly made a noise in his throat—it was a light, raspy, quite desperate sound, but he was pleased when he saw his friend's sadness wisp away, now replaced by surprise at his actions. "Are you okay?" She asked, beginning to rise from her place in the chair that resided next to the head of his bed. "What's wrong?"

Natsu made another noise, though louder this time. He instantly felt his throat burn, but ignored it frustratedly as the blonde girl beside him tensed. She was then frozen, her wide eyes boring into his as her hands reached out towards him. "What is it?" He voice was a little bit quieter, and questioning.

"D-don't…" His voice was barely even a whisper as the dragonslayer practically choked out his words, but he continued to press, determined to ensure that Lucy wouldn't waste any more of her tears on him. He noticed the faded, dark pink tear stains that streaked down each side of her face almost as soon as he'd laid eyes on her, and if anything made him angry enough to punch someone, it was that alone.

"Don't cry. I'm f-fine." Natsu forced a smile despite his throbbing aches and the furious stinging in his throat, despite how desperately he craved a meal the size of his entire guild fortress, despite how terribly he felt for putting his all of his friends through to much worry.

But all of that went away when Lucy returned his smile with her own.

Then suddenly, in that moment, everything began to seem as though it was going away. That racing hurricane that had been residing in his mind quickly flushed out when he caught sight of the rosy state of his companion's skin, and the weakness that flowed all throughout his veins was cleansed by the way her thick eyelashes fluttered. His sore muscles and boiling blood were soothed, softened, consoled, when she lowered her hand onto his and intertwined their fingers together once again.

Any worry in the world that he could've possibly held was completely dissolved as Lucy whispered, "I'm so happy you're okay," before she began to fade from in front of him. Her neat figure slid from his view as a sudden blanket of darkness was laid atop his eyes. Her smile, her eyes, her kindness… it was all gone in an instant, and before he could even begin to question it, he himself was gone as well.

Lucy watched as Natsu's eyes slowly fluttered closed, with the same graceful motion as that of a butterfly's wings.

Even before she'd said those words to him, she knew that he probably wouldn't remember anything by the time he'd wake up next. She knew that, even though he'd spoken to her and shared the warmth of his hands with her own, he was far from respondent, or even fully awake. She knew that what she had been wanting to do so badly throughout the past three days should never be done, especially in circumstances like this, but her hope was there inside of her, flaring so brightly that it made her skin feel hot.

And that hope remained in her heart as she gingerly lifted herself from the chair, craned her neck downward until her head was mere inches above Natsu's, and then planted a soft, short kiss onto his still lips.

She felt an explosion of blaring heat shoot it's way down her body as their lips came in contact for that brief moment, and when she pulled away, she suddenly felt empty. Lucy smiled as she quietly brought herself back down into her chair, that hope growing so large and so bright that she could almost see it.

Yes… yes, she could see it! It was before her, wrapped in bandages, laying on its back in an infirmary bed. It had suffered brutal injuries that none should ever suffer, but it was healing. It was getting better every day. This hope fueled everything that Lucy's life was comprised of. This hope never failed to make her smile, to make her brave, to make her feel truly alive.

Her hope was Natsu.


End file.
